Max Neuhaus (1939-2009)

Feb 08, 2009 6:26 pm

Max Neuhaus passed this week. He was known for many radio art works.

From Rhizome:
This week marked the passing of a true visionary of contemporary art, Max Neuhaus. Originally an accomplished solo percussionist who toured with Boulez and Stockhausen, in the late 1960's Neuhaus moved his practice out of the concert hall and into the public sphere, setting up numerous sound-based installations in and around New York City.


From his Wikipedia page:
In the first "Public Supply" in 1966, he combined a radio station with the telephone network and created a two-way public aural space twenty miles in diameter encompassing New York City, where any inhabitant could join a live dialogue with sound by making a phone call. Later, in 1977 with "Radio Net," he formed a nationwide network with 190 radio stations. The current project, "Auracle," constructs a twenty-four hour a day global entity for live interaction with sound over the Internet.


His work directly influenced many later artists, such as 31 Down and their "Canal Street Station."